Power, vulnerability and the space between the two have long been Viola Davis’s territory. She has built a career playing women who can command a room and still carry their uncertainties quietly beneath the surface; women who are formidable and yet, vulnerable.
That tension is what draws Davis to the characters she inhabits.
“I’m always interested in the juxtaposition of power and vulnerability,” she tells The Hollywood Reporter India on a Sunday evening via a video call.
Calm and composed, she speaks about the performance of strength — the expectation to appear smart, capable and entirely in control, even when something more complicated is unfolding underneath. It’s a contradiction she continues to explore in her latest roles, from the investigative thriller Ally Clark to the corporate drama Ascent. But Davis’s interests extend beyond the characters she plays.
The global brand ambassador and international spokesperson for L'Oréal Paris, who set to walk the L’Oréal Paris’ Le Défilé at Paris Fashion Week tomorrow, reflects on an industry where women, particularly Black women, are increasingly claiming agency not only in front of the camera but behind it, as producers and creative decision-makers. For her, that progress also means making room for women across age, size, skin tone and experience.
Though, away from the spotlight, Davis has become increasingly intentional about protecting something that can be harder to find: peace.
Perhaps that is the through line in Davis’s career; she has never been interested in women who are easy to read. She is interested in what lies beneath the surface — the power, the beauty, the contradictions — and in giving all of it somewhere to be seen.
Edited excerpt from a conversation:
THR INDIA: Lets talk about two of your recent titles. Ally Clark puts you in the role of an investigator uncovering a major conspiracy, whereas the TV series Ascent places you in a world of corporate power. What draws you to these kinds of stories?
Viola Davis: I’m drawn to people who are in search of connection, maybe in search of a shoulder to cry on.That’s probably who we are on a day-to-day basis. We wear the mask as soon as we leave our homes because we want to survive in the world. It takes us a long time to realise that our vulnerability is our strength.
That’s what attracts me to these two characters, and to a lot of the characters I’ve played... Like Annalise Keating (How to Get Away with Murder) for sure.
THR INDIA: In 2018, you famously spoke about the pay gap between you and peers like Meryl Streep. Do you think there’s been a shift in how women in the industry are valued today, both in terms of respect and compensation?
VD: You know what I think? Sometimes the world doesn’t change, but people do. What’s happening now is that women are changing. They’re waking up. They’re understanding that they are the change they want to see.
I always say this, especially about Black women — Octavia Spencer, Taraji P. Henson, Kerry Washington, Gabrielle Union, Issa Rae, Regina King — I could go on. They have their production companies. They’ve become producers, and they actively search for the scripts they want and the creative people they want to partner with. In that way, they’re changing the atmosphere because they understand that they have to be in the driver’s seat. It has changed, because they understand that power.
THR INDIA: Is there still a gap that needs to be filled, or a change that needs to happen?
VD: Yes. The industry needs to meet women where they are. And I think you can trust the audience to meet us where we are too — in terms of our differences in age, size, hue, storytelling, and the vastness of storytelling.
THR INDIA: How have you changed over the many years you've spent in Hollywood, particularly in terms of self-care?
VD: Self-care is about finding my joy and peace every single day. I’m the kind of woman who cares less about my closet and more about my bathroom. My bathroom has to have the best beauty products — for my skin when I get out of the shower, or for getting into the bathtub with my bath bombs. I love Lush bath bombs and Epsom salt. I have a massage chair at home, I like playing music in the house and spray lavender all around. Every bit of what peace and joy means to me, I try to squeeze it out, so I can live in the overflow of it.
But I’m more intentional about it all now. When I was younger, what I did was eat and walk a lot. I was a New Yorker! But now, it’s about being present. I think the older you get, the more you let go. And I’m not holding onto things so tightly.
THR INDIA: I know you said you don’t care much about your closet, but speaking of style, how do you like to dress for a regular day on set?
VD: I’m not going to lie, I always want to put on something different. I always want something that enhances me, like the dress I’m wearing tomorrow. I like something bold, but my kind of bold — not anyone else’s. I don’t like dressing up every single day, but when I do, it does make me feel good.
THR INDIA: You've also fronted the recent True Match campaign by L'Oréal Paris. What is the message that you hope to convey through your beauty campaigns, especially when it comes to representing women on screen?
VD: The message that L'Oréal just delivers so perfectly is that you're the palette. That you, and all that you are, your skin tone, your body, your imperfections, are beautiful. Make-up is an extension of that message, and so are the spokespeople that deliver it. I don't see any women trying to be an image of how they feel women should be. They see us how we are.
THR INDIA: Speaking of, their campaign is all about self-worth. What has made you feel the most "worth it" in this chapter of your life?
VD: It's been an honour, sharing my story. And every time I tell it, I'm amazed by the magic of it. I'm amazed by the fact that I grew up in such sort of challenging circumstances. All I was, was a young girl who had a dream. And I manifested such a beautiful life. Not just the L'Oréal campaign and the awards and the career, but also the friendships, the memories, my beautiful husband, my daughter. It's so much bigger than I even wished for.
THR INDIA: What do you and your daughter, Genesis, enjoy doing together?
VD: Well, she is just perfect with make-up, knowing how much to put on, just enhancing. She teaches me tricks, especially highlighting.